waltdisneyfandomcom-20200224-history
The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book is a 1967 American animated musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions. Inspired by Rudyard Kipling's book of the same name, it is the 19th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, it was the last film to be produced by Walt Disney, who died during its production. The plot follows Mowgli, a feral child raised in the Indian jungle by wolves, as his friends Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear try to convince him into leaving the jungle before the evil tiger Shere Khan arrives. The early versions of both the screenplay and the soundtrack followed Kipling's work more closely, with a dramatic, dark and sinister tone which Disney did not want in his family film, leading to writer Bill Peet and composer Terry Gilkyson being replaced. The casting employed famous actors and musicians Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, George Sanders and Louis Prima, as well as Disney regulars such as Sterling Holloway, J. Pat O'Malley and Verna Felton, and the director's son, Bruce Reitherman, as Mowgli. The Jungle Book was released on October 18, 1967, to positive reception, with acclaim for its soundtrack, featuring five songs by the Sherman Brothers and one by Gilkyson, The Bare Necessities. The film grossed over 73 million dollars in the United States in its first release, and as much again from two re-releases. Disney released a theatrical sequel, The Jungle Book 2, in 2003. Plot Mowgli, a young orphan boy, is found in a basket in the deep jungles of India by Bagheera, a black panther who promptly takes him to a mother wolf (Raksha) who has just had cubs. She raises him along with her own cubs and Mowgli soon becomes well acquainted with jungle life. Mowgli is shown ten years later, playing with his wolf siblings. One night, when the wolf tribe learns that Shere Khan, a man-eating Bengal tiger, has returned to the jungle, they realize that Mowgli must be taken to the Man-Village for his own safety. Bagheera volunteers to escort him back. They leave that very night, but Mowgli is determined to stay in the jungle. He and Bagheera rest in a tree for the night, where Kaa, a hungry python, tries to devour Mowgli, but Bagheera intervenes. The next morning, Mowgli tries to join the elephant patrol led by Colonel Hathi and his wife Winifred. Bagheera finds Mowgli, but after a fight decides to leave Mowgli on his own. Mowgli soon meets up with the laid-back, fun-loving bear Baloo, who promises to raise Mewgli himself and never take him back to the Man-Village. Shortly afterwards, a group of monkeys kidnap Mowgli and take him to their leader, King Louie the orangutan. King Louie offers to help Mowgli stay in the jungle if he will tell Louie how to make fire like other humans. However, since he was not raised by humans, Mowgli does not know how to make fire. Bagheera and Baloo arrive to rescue Mowgli and in the ensuing chaos, King Louie's palace is demolished rubble. Bagheera speaks to Baloo that night and convinces him that the jungle will never be safe for Mowgli so long as Shere Khan is there. In the morning, Baloo reluctantly explains to Mowgli that the Man-Village is best for the boy, but Mowgli, accuses him of breaking his promise and runs away. As Baloo sets off in search of Mowgli, Bagheera rallies the help of Hathi and his patrol. However, Shere Khan himself, who was eavesdropping on Bagheera and Hathi's conversation, is now determined to hunt and kill Mowgli himself. Meanwhile, Mowgli has encountered Kaa once again, but thanks to the unwitting intervention of the suspicious Shere Khan, Mowgli escapes. As a storm gathers, a depressed Mowgli encounters a group of friendly vultures who accept Mowgli as a fellow outcast. Shere Khan appears shortly after, scaring off the vultures and confronting Mowgli. Ball rushes to the rescue and tries to keep Shere Khan away from Mowgli, but is injured. When lightning strikes a nearby tree and sets it ablaze, the vultures swoop in to distract Shere Khan while Mowgli gathers flaming branches and ties them to Shere Khan's tail. Terrified of fire, the tiger panics and runs off. Bagheera and Baloo take Mowgli to the edge of the Man-Village, but Mowgli is still hesitant to go there. His mind soon changes when he is smitten by a beautiful young girl from the village who is coming down by the riverside to fetch water. After noticing Mowgli, she accidentally drops her water pot. Mowgli retrieves it for her and follows her into the Man-Village. After Mowgli chooses to stay in the Man-Village, Ballo and Bagheera decide to head home, content the Mowgli is safe and happy with his own kind. Cast * Bruce Reitherman as Mowgli * Phil Harris as Baloo * Sebastian Cabot as Bagheera * Louis Prima as King Louie * George Sanders as Shere Khan * Sterling Holloway as Kaa * J. Pat O'Malley as Colonel Hathi and Buzzie * Verna Felton as Winifred * Clint Howard as Hathi Jr. * Chad Stuart as Flaps * Lord Tim Hudson as Dizzie * John Abbott as Akela * Ben Wright as Rama the Father Wolf * Darleen Carr as the Human Girl * Leo De Lyon as Flunkey * Hal Smith as the Slob Elephant * Ralph Wright as the Gloomy Elephant * Digby Wolfe as Ziggy * Bill Skiles and Pete Henderson as the Monkeys Songs * Colonel Hathi's March (performed by J. Pat O'Malley, Hal Smith, Verna Felton, Bill Lee, Clint Howard and the Disney Studio Chorus * Bare Necessities (performed by Phil Harris and Bruce Reitherman) * I Wanna Be Like You (performed by Louis Prima, Phil Harris and Bruce Reitherman) * Colonel Hathi's March Reprise (performed by J. Pat O'Malley, Hal Smith, Verna Felton, Bill Lee,Trust in Met Clint Howard and the Disney Studio Chorus) * Trust in Me (performed by Sterling Holloway) * That's What Friends Are For (performed by Chad Stuart, Lord Tim Hudson, Digby Wolfe, J. Pat O'Malley, Bruce Reitherman and George Sanders (dubbed on the soundtrack by Bill Lee) * My Own Home (performed by Darleen Carr) * The Bare Necessities Reprise (performed by Phil Harris and Sebastian Cabot) International premieres * United States: October 18, 1967 * Argentina: December 7, 1967 * United Kingdom: March 21, 1968 * Ireland: April 12, 1968 * Hong Kong: May 16, 1968 * Japan: August 6, 1968 * Italy: December 6, 1968 * Sweden: December 9, 1968 * France: December 11, 1968 * West Germany: December 13, 1968 * Spain: December 16, 1968 * Australia: December 19, 1968 * Netherlands: December 19, 1968 * Austria: December 20, 1968 * Belgium: December 20, 1968 * Finland: December 20, 1968 * Denmark: December 26, 1968 * Norway: December 26, 1968 * Uruguay: June 18, 1969 * Brazil: July 8, 1969 * Israel: September 14, 1969 * Czechoslovakia: 1975 * Hungary: May 24, 1979 * Poland: March 18, 1994 * Greece: July 5, 2000 * Iceland: August 10, 2000 * Kuwait: December 21, 2007 * Andorra: June 8, 2018 * Chile: June 9, 2018 International titles * Argentina, Spain, Mexico & Peru: El libro de la selva * Bulgaria: ? * Brazil: Mogli: O Menino Lobo * Croatia & Serbia: Knjiga o dzungli * Czechoslovakia: Kniha dzunglí * Denmark: Junglebogen * Finland: Viidakkokirja * France: Le livre de la jungle * Germany: Das Dschungelbuch * Grecce: To vivlio tis zouglas * Hungary: A dzsungel könyve * Iran: Ketab-e jangal * Israel: Sefer Ha-Jungle * Italy: Il libro della giungla * Japan: ジャングル・ブック (Janguru bukku) * Lithuania: Dziungliu knyga * Norwegian: Jungelboken * Poland: Ksiega dzungli * Portugal: O Livro da Selva * Romania: Cartea Junglei * Russia: ? * Sweden: Djungelboken * Ukraine: ? Differences between the novel and the film * In the book there are the wolves who find Mowgli, not Bagheera. * In the book, the father wolf is nameless and Rama is one of the bulls in the cattle heath that Mowgli uses to kill Shere Khan. In the film, the father wolf was named Rama. * In the book, Baloo is a wise, serious and responsible bear who usually teaches the jungle cubs everything they need to know about the law of the jungle. In the film, he is made as a stupid and lazy lifeguard who takes the day as it comes. * In the book, the snake Kaa is one of Mowgli's friends, who is among other things saving him from the monkeys. In the film, Kaa is one of the Mowgli's enemies and wants to eat Mowgli. In the book, Kaa hypnotises by dancing, but in the film with the help of his eyes. * In the book, the elephant Hathi is the jungle oldest and the one who takes command in crisis times. In the film, he is a pompous and thoughtful colonel who thinks he is the master of the jungle. * In the book, Mowgli becomes the monkey king while in the film it is Louie who is king. King Louie doesn't exist at all in the book; and besides, there are no wild orangutans in India. * There are no buzzards in the book. By the way, the film's buzzards are drawn so thet they resemble The Beatles. * In the book, Shere Khan is killed by Mowgli with the help of the cattle heath. In the film, he runs away with a burning twist knot to his tail. * The girl that Mowgli gets fond of is not included in the book (on the other hand, there is a woman who adopts Mowgli as her son). International releases For information about international dubs and releases, The Jungle Book/International. Category:1967 films Category:1960s American animated films Category:American musical films Category:Films produced by Walt Disney Category:Films directed by Wolfgang Reitherman Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios films Category:Walt Disney Pictures Category:Film scores by George Bruns Category:Film scores by Terry Gilkyson Category:Musicals by the Sherman Brothers Category:Walt Disney Feature Animation Category:Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection Category:DVD Category:VHS Category:THX